Chicken Breasts w/ Mushroom Cream Sauce (Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons)

Serves: 2

Total Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 2, 7-8-ounce chicken suprêmes
• salt, course
• black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2-4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 1/4 pound mushrooms (cremini or button), trimmed and sliced 1/8-inch
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup white chicken stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1-2 tablespoons Port (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook the Chicken: Preheat an oven to 350˚F. Preheat an appropriate-sized sauté pan over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken breasts dry and season salt and pepper.
2. Add 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter and sear the skin-side of the chicken breast until crisp and golden-brown, about 3 minutes. Move the pan to the preheated oven and finish cooking the chicken until the breast meat registers 165˚F on an instant-read thermometer.
3. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve warm on a plate loosely covered with foil while the sauce is made.
4. Make the Sauce: Pour off any excess fat, leaving 1 tablespoon in the pan. Sweat the shallots until translucent.
5. Add mushrooms and additional butter as needed and cook until the mushrooms have softened and given up most of their moisture and have started to brown. Adjust the heat as necessary.
6. Deglaze the pan with white wine allowing the wine to reduce  au sec, or almost dry.
7. Add the chicken stock and let reduce to sauce consistency, about two-thirds.
8. Once the sauce has reduced to the desired consistency, return any dripping from the plate of reserved chicken and add the cream. Simmer the sauce to the desired consistency and season with salt and pepper.
9. Sauce may be finished 1-2 teaspoons of cold butter swirled into the sauce and a splash of Port wine.